Recap
Recapping a victory over Donovan that turned out to be another trap (an hourglass device and a golem hallway), the party found a secret door to a new level and a bedroom shrouded in magical darkness @ 00:14:06–00:27:50. Jake was mauled by a horse-headed demon lurking in the dark; once Rich dispelled it, the party also found Donovan hiding in the corner — revealed to have secretly been serving the castle’s vampire lord all along, waiting to ambush whoever entered @ 00:48:16 onward. In the fight that followed, Donovan dominated Jake, summoned a delayed pack of wolves, and traded blows with the party while the demon clawed everyone in the dark; the party dropped him to 0 HP, at which point he turned to vampire mist, and Jess finished the demon with a critical sneak attack.
Trying to contain Donovan’s mist form, the party stuffed him into Jess’s handy haversack. Todd, trying to help free him, instead destroyed the haversack with his shield, tearing open a gate that flung Donovan into the Astral Plane with only two hours to find a resting place or be destroyed forever. The delayed wolves then arrived and were fought off, leaving several party members badly hurt; Jess was also infected with Contagion by the demon. After looting the bedroom and nearby alcoves, the party opened a servants’ dining hall and was ambushed by the ghosts of roughly 400 castle inhabitants, who nearly wiped the party with aging and fear attacks before withdrawing — Rich’s android, immune to mind effects, fear, and aging, tanked the fight almost single-handedly. Resting afterward, the party heard midnight bells and screaming, found a previously-rescued prisoner dead with his eyes removed, and the session ended with Todd pressing on alone toward a tower with a pulsing red glass “heart.”
Key events
- Recap: the party had already defeated Donovan off-mic before the session’s live portion began @ 00:14:06.
- The party finds a secret door and a bedroom shrouded in magical darkness @ 00:27:50–00:48:16.
- A horse-headed demon maul Jake in the dark; once dispelled, Donovan is found hiding in the corner, revealed as a traitor secretly serving the castle’s vampire lord @ 00:48:16 onward.
- Donovan dominates Jake, summons delayed wolves, and fights the party alongside the demon; he is dropped to 0 HP and turns to vampire mist, while Jess kills the demon with a sneak attack.
- The party stuffs Donovan’s mist form into Jess’s handy haversack; Todd destroys the haversack trying to free him, flinging Donovan into the Astral Plane with a two-hour limit before permanent destruction.
- The delayed wolf summons arrive and are fought off, leaving the party badly hurt; Jess is infected with Contagion by the demon.
- The party loots the bedroom (wand of ray of frost, scroll of remove curse, a falchion) and pulls a hot gem from the demon’s corpse, which Jake swallows and then vomits back up.
- The party opens a servants’ dining hall and is ambushed by the ghosts of ~400 castle inhabitants, nearly wiped by aging/fear attacks; Rich’s android (immune to mind effects, fear, and aging) tanks the fight.
- Resting afterward, the party hears midnight bells and screaming, and finds a previously-rescued prisoner dead with his eyes removed.
- The session ends with Todd pressing on alone toward a tower with a pulsing red glass “heart.”
Entities referenced
- NPCs: Donovan (revealed as a traitor, lost to the Astral Plane), Strahd von Zarovich (as the unnamed “boss guy” Donovan secretly served), a horse-headed demon, the ~400 ghosts of the servants’ dining hall, an unnamed rescued prisoner (found dead)
- Places: the dark bedroom, several loot alcoves, the servants’ dining hall, the Astral Plane, the tower with the pulsing red glass heart — all within or beyond Castle Ravenloft
- Items: wand of ray of frost, scroll of remove curse, a falchion, a hot gem (swallowed and vomited by Jake), the handy haversack (destroyed)
- Quests: Rescue Donovan (failed/derailed — he is lost to the Astral Plane), Find the Sun Sword’s Hilt (mentioned, still open)